“Contextere” is a Latin verb meaning “to weave together.” When people speak to one another in person, the communication exchange is rich in implicit messages such as body language and eye contact. Moreover, the physical environment has innate characteristics that implicitly guide the thoughts and conversations that occur within that particular architectural space. The act of seeking information often starts with an internal conversation regarding context. By looking carefully at an information seeker's context, one may gain valuable cues to help filter information.
The Internet provides individuals with access to vast amounts of data. The sheer volume of this data poses challenges in terms of understanding patterns in the data, as well as connecting the available information with one's environment. In many cases, users are not seeking obscure data, but instead seek to utilize the Internet to provide data that could be used in one's immediate context to help make everyday decisions. From a practical standpoint, it is very difficult or impossible to perform a computer-based search to find a suitable set of providers or resources that can satisfy a set of spatial, temporal, and attribute-based constraints. For example, a person who is experiencing a bad earache may desire to locate a nearby doctor who accepts their insurance policy, who is able to give an appointment within 24 hours, and who specializes in problems involving the ear, nose, and throat. A person with a broken-down car may need to locate a mechanic who is affiliated with AAA, who will honor an extended warranty car, who has a repair shop in the local area, and who receives consistently good reviews from customers. A traveler on vacation in a distant city may be interested in locating the nearest store which will remain open for the next hour, and which is equipped to ship express mail packages. A traveler who has a sick child may wish to find the nearest pediatrician who can see the child as quickly as possible.
In each of the foregoing examples, existing computer-based search engines are ill-equipped for locating suitable service providers. More specifically, it is not a straightforward matter to use conventional attribute-matching techniques to perform a complex search involving information from many different sources. Direct attribute matching to find a suitable provider or resource is not always possible. For example, a first pediatrician that is located closest to the sick child may have an opening for an appointment later in the day, but a second pediatrician that is located further away may be able to see the sick child immediately. Thus, there exists a need to overcome at least one of the preceding deficiencies and limitations of the related art.